High water leaves caskets unmoored

Heavy rains overwhelm vaults in cemeteries

Associated Press

Published 7:20 pm, Saturday, August 20, 2016

Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

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Cheyenne Hughes looks at a bible while salvaging items in her family's home after flooding August 17, 2016 in Denham Springs, Louisiana. The death toll from historic flooding in Louisiana climbed to 11 on August 16 as the expanding flood zone prompted authorities to declare disasters in 20 parishes of the southeastern US state. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan SmialowskiBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images ORG XMIT: Torrentia less

Cheyenne Hughes looks at a bible while salvaging items in her family's home after flooding August 17, 2016 in Denham Springs, Louisiana. The death toll from historic flooding in Louisiana climbed to 11 on ... more

Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

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GONZALES, LA - AUGUST 17: Caskets are seen floating in flood waters near a cemetery on August 17, 2016 in Gonzales, Louisiana. Starting last week Louisiana was overwhelmed with flood water causing at least seven deaths and thousands of homes damaged by the flood waters. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 661531729 less

GONZALES, LA - AUGUST 17: Caskets are seen floating in flood waters near a cemetery on August 17, 2016 in Gonzales, Louisiana. Starting last week Louisiana was overwhelmed with flood water causing at least ... more

Photo: Joe Raedle

High water leaves caskets unmoored

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St. Amant, La.

Louisiana continues to dig itself out from devastating floods, with search parties going door to door looking for survivors or bodies trapped by flooding so powerful in some cases it disturbed the dead and sent caskets floating from cemeteries.

At least 13 people died in the flooding that swept through parts of southern Louisiana after torrential rains lashed the region. While the waters have slowly receded in many areas, the hard work of rebuilding lives is just ramping up, with people cleaning out their homes while others struggle to find a place to stay.

In a uniquely Louisiana problem, some families are also trying to rebury relatives whose caskets were unearthed by the floods.

At the Plainview Cemetery in Denham Springs, relatives gathered to see what had become of their plots, only to find a chaotic mess with some vaults overturned and in other cases only empty outlines of graves remaining.

"This is bad, it's just bad. You can't even come to see people. You don't know where they're at," said Ravonte Thomas, whose relative's casket was missing.

In southern Louisiana, the water table is so high that people generally cannot be buried six feet under. Caskets are often encased in vaults that are partially above ground, said Zeb Johnson, with the Calcasieu Parish coroner's office, who has extensive experience with recovering caskets scattered by flooding or hurricanes.

At least 15 cemeteries across seven parishes have had disruptions, the Louisiana Dept. of Health reported, although they don't yet have an estimate of how many graves, tombs, and vaults have been damaged.